LCTCB Instructions for Individual Payment Website

Transcription

1 Lancaster County Tax Collection Bureau 1845 William Penn Way Lancaster, PA Phone (717) LCTCB Instructions for Individual Payment Website Revised April 18, 2016

2 These instructions are for using the Lancaster County Tax Collection Bureau s (LCTCB s) website designed to allow INDIVIDUAL taxpayers to: Make Individual Earned Income Tax (EIT) quarterly estimated payments Make Individual Local Services Tax (LST) payments for selfemployed and work at home individuals Request an extension of the due date for filing the Individual annual EIT tax return and also make a payment of the estimated liability that will be reported on the final return if necessary. The website accepts only ACH Debit electronic payments. A valid checking or savings account is required in order to submit these types of payments to LCTCB. No additional fees are charged for processing these payments. 2

3 Table of Contents Using the Website...4 Create Your Account...4 Create and Manage Your Profile...7 Complete the Profile Information... 8 Setup Taxpayers... 9 Setup Bank Accounts Manage Addresses Change Password Make Payments and Extension Requests Making an EIT Estimated Payment Making an Individual LST Payment Requesting a Final Return Extension Payment Status and Editing

4 Using the Website To use the website, you need to: 1. Create your account 2. Add your taxpayer(s) information 3. Add your banking information 4. Schedule your payments. Create Your Account 1. To create your account go to 4

5 2. In the upper right corner, click Sign Up. 3. Enter all the requested information including selecting a Username and creating a password. 5

6 4. Click Sign Up. If you have entered the information correctly the following message displays: 5. Go to your account inbox and locate and open the from localdirect. The shows the username you selected and includes a link to confirm the creation of the account. 6. Click the link confirming your account creation. 7. Carefully review the terms and conditions noted in the e-signature Agreement. If you accept all the terms listed, click I Agree. A message displays on the login page confirming the address 8. You may now login with your username and password. 6

7 Create and Manage Your Profile After creating your account you must login and complete your profile information. This includes: Entering address Information Setting up the Taxpayers for whom you will be making payments Setting up the Bank Accounts from which the payments will be made. 1. Go to 2. In the upper right corner, click Log In. The log in screen displays 3. Enter your Username and Password and click Sign In. The start page displays 4. All Profile creation and maintenance is done using the Manage Account dropdown options in the upper right corner. 7

8 Complete the Profile Information 1. In the upper right corner select Manage Account > Update Profile. 2. Enter the information in all fields and click Update. The Home page displays. 8

9 Setup Taxpayers Taxpayer accounts are added based on the combination of the Last Name and Social Security Number. Taxpayer accounts can only be added for taxpayers who have filed with LCTCB in the past and have a status of Active. The Taxpayer account must be setup before any type of payment can be made or before an extension request is filed. NOTE: You may make payments for multiple taxpayers from a single account. 1. In the upper right corner select Manage Account > Manage Taxpayers. 2. Click Add. 3. In the Taxpayer Name field, enter the Taxpayer s full name. 4. In the SSN field, enter the Social Security Number without dashes. 9

10 5. In the Last Name field, enter the Taxpayer s last name (this must exactly match the last name of the taxpayer as it is in the LCTCB database for the SSN you entered). 6. Click Add. 7. If a match of the SSN and Last Name is found, you are returned to the Taxpayer Accounts screen and the taxpayer appears in the list of accounts. If a match is not found, the following message displays. 10

11 Setup Bank Accounts Taxpayers and bank accounts must be setup before any type of payment can be made. The bank account information needed is the routing number of the financial institution, your account number at that institution and the type of account you are accessing either checking or savings. The following is a sample of a check and shows where you can find the correct numbers: 1. In the upper right corner select Manage Account > Manage Bank Accounts. 2. Click Add Bank Account. 11

12 3. In the Bank Routing Number field, enter the 9 digit routing number for the financial institution. 4. In the Bank Account Number field, enter the account number at the financial institution. DO NOT ENTER ANY SPACES OR DASHES 5. From the Account Type drop-down, select Checking or Savings. 6. In the Bank Account Name field enter a name you can use to easily identify the account when selecting bank accounts for payments. 7. Click Add. 8. If the routing number is verified as valid, you are returned to the Bank Accounts screen and the bank account appears in the list of accounts. If the routing number is not valid the following message displays: 12

13 Manage Addresses You may have multiple addresses in your account but you must always have at least one primary address. You can remove old addresses as long as you added a new address, verified it and made it the primary address. 1. In the upper right corner select Manage Account > Manage Addresses. 2. To add an address, type it in the field and click Add . A verification link is sent to that address for confirmation. 13

14 Change Password The account password can be changed at any time. The password does not expire or need to be changed after so many days. If you forget your password there is a Forgot Password link on the Log In page you can use to recover your account. NOTE: If you fail to enter the correct password 5 times in a row, the account will be locked out for 72 hours before you can retry. It is recommended you use the Forget Password link on the Log In Page prior if are unsuccessful the first few attempts. 1. In the upper right corner select Manage Account > Change Password. 2. Fill in the field with the requested information and click Change Password. 14

15 Make Payments and Extension Requests The website will accept individual quarterly estimated payments for Earned Income Tax (EIT), the individual annual payment of Local Service Tax (LST) and also a payment of estimated EIT to accompany an extension request. The payment making process for all payment types includes selecting the taxpayer, the period to which the payment applies, the amount and the bank account to be used for the payment. There are some slight differences in the selection options depending on the payment type. NOTE: In order to make payments all the profile information needs to be completed for the taxpayer(s) and bank accounts. Making an EIT Estimated Payment EIT Estimated payments are the quarterly payments many self-employed individuals or individuals whose employers do not withhold local earned income tax are required to make if their tax liability exceeds a particular threshold. While the law allows the taxpayer to pay these in four installments, the taxpayer is also allowed to pay the full amount of their estimated liability in fewer payments if they choose. To make the EIT estimated payment: 1. From the menu bar select EIT Payments > Make Estimated Payment. 15

16 2. Select the Taxpayer from the Taxpayer drop-down list. 3. Select the Tax Year and Quarter to which the payment should be applied from the Tax Year/Quarter drop-down list. 4. In the Scheduled Payment Date field, select the date the payment should be made. There is no guarantee this payment will be deducted from the specified bank account on the selected date. This date represents a not before date. The payment could be deducted from your account ON OR AFTER this date. 5. In the Tax Amount field, enter the payment amount to be deducted. 6. Select the Bank Account from which the payment should be deducted from the Bank Account drop-down list. 7. Click Add. The payment displays in the EIT Payment History screen. Making an Individual LST Payment Local Service Tax (LST) payments are taxes imposed by local municipalities on people who work in these municipalities and is usually withheld by the employer. However, selfemployed and work at home employees are also subject to this tax in most cases even if it is not withheld. Currently, the maximum annual LST tax is $52 per person. Most of the districts served by LCTCB as the collector are $52 per year but a few do have a lower annual LST charge. A list of the municipalities for whom LCTCB is the LST collector and their annual LST amounts can be found on our website at The LST payment must be made in a single lump sum payment To make the LST payment: 1. From the menu bar select LST Payments > Make Individual LST Payment. The LST Payment window displays 16

17 2. Select the Taxpayer from the Taxpayer drop-down list. 3. Select the Tax Year to which the payment should be applied from the Tax Year drop-down list. 4. In the Scheduled Payment Date field, select the date the payment should be made. There is no guarantee this payment will be deducted from the specified bank account on the selected date. This date represents a not before date. The payment could be deducted from your account ON OR AFTER this date. 5. In the Tax Amount field, enter the payment amount to be deducted. Currently, the payment page does not accept any amount greater than $ Select the Bank Account from which the payment should be deducted from the Bank Account drop-down list. 7. If you want to use the address in the taxpayer profile, check the Use Address From My Profile checkbox. If you need to enter a different work address, leave the box unchecked and enter that work address in the fields provided. 8. Click Add. The payment displays in the LST Payment History screen. 17

18 Requesting a Final Return Extension Extensions are an extension of time to file your individual earned income tax return. However, the extension of time to file DOES NOT extend the deadline for payment. Failure to pay the tax in full by the original due date will result in additional penalties, interest and fees being assessed against the taxpayer. This site is designed to allow you to file an extension with or without an accompanying payment. If you expect to owe additional taxes you can schedule a payment at the same time you complete the extension request. If you do not expect to owe additional taxes, you can still use this site to file the extension request without a payment. NOTE: The site will only accept extension requests on or before the original due date for the current tax year. You cannot file extensions after the original due date. To request the final return extension: 1. From the menu bar select File Return Extensions > File Extension. The Add Final Return Extension page displays. 2. Select the Taxpayer from the Taxpayer drop-down list. 3. Select the Tax Year for which the extension is being requested from the Tax Year drop-down list. 4. If you do not need to add a payment with your extension request, click Add to complete the request and you are finished. If you need to submit a payment with your extension request, check the Include Payment with Extension checkbox and continue next step. 5. In the Scheduled Payment Date field, select the date the payment should be made. There is no guarantee this payment will be deducted from the specified bank account on the selected date. This date represents a not before date. The payment could be deducted from your account ON OR AFTER this date. 6. In the Tax Amount field, enter the payment amount to be deducted. 7. Select the Bank Account from which the payment should be deducted from the Bank Account drop-down list. 8. Click Add. The completed extension request displays in the Final Return Extension History screen. 18

19 Payment Status and Editing Noted on all payment history pages are the payment status information along with the payment and available actions. The statuses are: R Ready this is the initial status for all scheduled payments. A payment with this status may still be edited or voided completely. I In Process a payment with this status has been extracted into the Bureau s back office systems for processing but has not yet been paid by the bank. A payment with this status may not be edited or voided. However, there may be a small window of time for you to contact the Bureau if changes are needed. Contact must be via a phone call and there is the possibility it will still be too late to stop the payment from processing as it was originally entered. P Paid a payment with this status has been submitted to the bank for payment. This status only indicates that it was submitted as originally entered. It does not guarantee that the payment processed successfully or that it has not been returned by the financial institution as unable to be processed. V Void a payment with this status was voided by the user while in Ready status prior to being extracted or processed by the Bureau. A voided payment cannot have the void reversed. The payment is complete and a new payment must be created if a replacement is wanted. To void or edit a payment or extension: 1. Open the payment history window for the payment you need to access 2. Under Actions, you can: a. Click Edit to make changes to the payment and re-save it b. Click Void to view a confirmation window verifying voiding the payment. 19

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